June 23, 2002	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1423

RIYADH, June 22: Lebanese shares rose 1.1 per cent in the week ending Friday to lead a quiet week that saw seven of the 12 Arab markets decline, Bakheet Financial Advisors (BFA) said on Saturday.

Lebanon’s BLOM Index closed at 426.23 points on the back of a 2.8 per cent surge in market leader Solidere’s shares, BFA said.

The worst performer was the Nablus-based Palestinian Al-Quds Index, down 3.7 per cent after more than two weeks of forced closure by Israeli forces, the Riyadh-based analysts said.

Other gains were made by Qatar’s CBQ Index, up 0.6 per cent to 366.83 points, while Oman’s MSM Index ended on 186.78 points, an increase of 0.3 per cent.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) Index closed on 2,210.9 points, up 0.07 per cent on the week and 29.3 per cent on the year — the best performer of the Arab bourses so far in 2002.

The United Arab Emirates’ NBAD Index, meanwhile, slipped 0.1 per cent to 3,098.41 points and Egypt’s Hermes Financial Index closed 0.9 per cent down at 5,310.20 points.

Bahrain’s BSE Index finished on 1,781.44 points, a drop of 1.1 per cent, as investors awaited market reaction to quarterly results.

Morocco’s CFG Index shed a further 1.2 per cent to finish on 7,588.60 points due to the slow pace of economic reforms, and Tunisia’s TUNINDEX shed 1.4 per cent to 1,160.44 points on a 10.1 per cent slump in SOTETEL shares ahead of anticipated bad results.

The Saudi Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) lost 1.8 per cent to close on 2,764.81 points on the back of losses in market leader SABIC, the banking sector and Saudi Electricity Co., which together make up 80 per cent of the market’s capitalization.

Jordan’s Amman Stock Exchange Index closed unchanged at 184.20 points, its highest level since April 1999.—AFP